The Delicious Brothers
by JimDimitri
Summary: A grimdark look at who the Delicious Brothers really are, and how they came to be. Grimdark, slash in later chapters, set in the Friendship is Magic universe.
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Delicious Brothers  
Chapter: 1  
Pairing: Red Delicious/Golden Delicious  
Rating: PG

Warnings: Slash, grimdark  
Summary: This fanfic was inspired by some discussion on /co/, concerning the nature of cutie marks, the Delicious brothers, and how one finds a mate in Ponyville. The only "married" ponies we've seen so far were Mr. and Mrs. Cake; this led to the assumption that either A) your symbol can change when you find someone to love, or B) ponies seek out their partners by symbol.  
_

He knew he was in serious trouble the moment the guardmares came to find him on the docks.

Celestia never sent her guardmares out for anything less than ... well, he'd never heard of a time that they had been sent, actually. They were known as her highest-ranking guardians, the highest tier of the entirety of Princess Celestia's defensive force. They were her own personal guards, for the rare times that she had need of them, and they were rumored to never leave Canterlot. Any minor infractions that he had witnessed while onboard the PCS Yellow Flower had been dealt with by Her Majesty's pegasus battalion, even for the most severe instances of anti-friendship action.

Then again, Golden Honey hadn't just been sneaking himself a few extra tulips from the food stores this time.

It was the silence that unnerved him the most; the pegasus guys hadn't been too awful. Even though they were all silent, they always seemed to share a sort of camaraderie, even if Golden Honey had only imagined it. They were all servicemen, aiding Princess Celestia in keeping Equestria safe and happy; they all suffered equally under the laws that denied stallions the right to vote in the town elections, or to hold any significant ranking in the governing body. But the guardmares... he wasn't sure what it was, but they just gave him the heebie-jeebies. Maybe it was just the fact that they were female, he tried to calm himself, and unicorns weren't allowed in the naval ranks, so it wasn't like he was used to seeing those either. Unicorns and pegasi had far too many useful talents to be wasted out on the open sea, his sergeant had brusquely informed him; only earth ponies were considered strong enough to be able to swim to shore if their ship should sink. Or, Golden Honey had thought rebelliously, easily enough replaced if they should die.

He moved as quietly as he could between the two lead guardmares, hoping that they couldn't hear his heart as it pounded in his ears. It was so loud, it wouldn't have mattered even if the guardmares were talking - which they weren't. The most he ever got out of them was a cold, sharp glance, and the faintest hint of condescension that he couldn't quite give words to. But what the hell would he know: he was just a simple sailor. A simple, stupid sailor who had gotten tangled up in something he shouldn't have.

Golden Honey did his best to keep his head up as they entered Princess Celestia's throne room. If he looked guilty, he had no chance; then again, who had any sort of chance in here, especially a no-name stallion from the outskirts of Equestria? Getting into Her Majesty's navy had been a bit of a feat in itself, without any real training or references. He'd proved himself through brute strength alone, and he highly doubted he would be able to use that as a fallback in here. The room was supposed to be broad and airy, welcoming yet majestic, but all Golden could think of was how close the guards stood to him, and how very distant and cold Her Majesty looked up on her throne. She was supposed to be the leader of his people, their guardian and protector, and yet Golden didn't feel particularly protected right now. Then again, he was on the opposite side of that system now, wasn't he?

Once Golden Honey had been walked to the very end of the long room, standing directly below Princess Celestia's throne, she spoke. Her voice rolled like thunder, and despite how gentle she tried to make it, there was still a certain sort of terrible beauty in it that made all of Golden Honey's fur stand on end.

"My child. You have committed a grave crime." She said in that thunder-rolling voice, and Golden Honey was so transfixed by it he almost didn't notice the guardmares pulling away from him. What were they needed for? Princess Celestia could kill him without even breaking a sweat. "You have risked our treaty with the draconic kingdoms to the south."

Her words seemed to tug Golden Honey out of his panicked stupor, and he spoke thickly, as if the words were being pulled out of deep water. "Your Majesty, that was not my intention. I was only doing what I thought was right."

"What you _think_ is right is not my concern. You had your orders. The draconic kingdoms do not meddle in our business, and we do not meddle in theirs. They allow us to use their channels, and in return we-"

"It was still warm!"

There was a sudden, deafening silence as the lowly earth stallion interrupted the princess, and even Celestia seemed to eye him a little more coldly. His heart, which had been pounding so loudly in his ears until now, suddenly seemed to stop, or perhaps drop down into his belly. He wasn't sure which, but it probably explained the panicky wave of sickness that he felt ripple through him.

"It was still warm. The egg." He tried to explain feebly, feeling more coltish than he had even back when he had actually been a colt. He struggled to hold his stance, refusing to deflate or genuflect even as the princess' eyes bored into him. "It wasn't - it wasn't dead, the water hadn't - I couldn't just -"

"Couldn't just obey the law?" Princess Celestia said softly, her voice torn between anger and a vague sort of curiosity. It was difficult to be curious, of course, when you were a pony goddess.

"I couldn't kill it! There was still a baby dragon in there!" Golden Honey insisted, his voice rising a little, some of his naked panic fading.

"What the dragons do with their failed offspring is none of our concern, Golden Honey." Princess Celestia said coldly, sitting back on her throne slightly, her hind legs folded under her.

"It - it wasn't failed, it wasn't even cold!" Golden Honey protested, his tail lashing once.

"There are many different kinds of failure."

Golden Honey couldn't keep his mouth closed, even if he wanted to; it had gotten him into trouble before with the upper ranks before, but he was pretty damn sure it had never gotten him into this much trouble. "Failure? There's nothing wrong with him! He's - he's perfectly healthy!"

"I can see that." Celestia said simply, and turned her long, elegant head ever so slightly to the side, watching as a new guardmare approached the Princess' throne. Golden Honey took a step forward, unable to keep himself in place, and was immediately rebuffed by the armored sides of the guardmares as they herded him back to his spot.

"Don't - don't hurt him." What he had intended to be a sharp, demanding whinny came out instead as a small, frightened warble, his eyes locked on the small dragon now cradled in one of the guardmare's forelegs. He'd grown a lot in the past month, the tiny bumps on his skull slowly grown until they had become the dragonic-looking spikes. But he was still just a baby dragon, more roly-poly and rounded edges than spines and spikes, and his squirming in the mare's grip was easily ignored. Golden hadn't seen him in a few days, being locked up and all, but he looked pretty healthy still, undamaged even by the stony stares of the guardmares.

"What do you think I would do to him, Golden Honey?" Princess Celestia asked, almost sadly, and the different tone in her voice made him turn to look at her again. The voice sounded sad, but her eyes ... it just didn't translate. It was like someone speaking in a foreign language they didn't quite understand. The words made sense, but there was no meaning behind them. "He has not done anything wrong. Your actions are the ones that have put him in harm's way."

Golden Delicious bit his tongue as mightily as he could, struggling not to look back at the little dragon. For so many weeks he'd tried to hide him belowdeck, carried him in the boiler room when the sleeping quarters got too cold, snuck him as many different kinds of food as he could until he found something he didn't spit back at him. He was just - just so /little/. He hadn't expected the egg to hatch; he'd done his best, but he wasn't a dragon, didn't know how to keep an egg properly warmed. He'd figured it would just die anyway, but ... he'd never had anything that little depending on him. The egg in the ocean, bobbing so merrily along, had tugged at him. Tugged him hard enough to send him over the side of the ship to retrieve it, hiding it in his bunk until that little purple guy had come nibbling his way out. Shit, he wasn't made of stone, he couldn't resist those big yellow-green eyes staring up at him, couldn't just dump him overboard when it became clear that there was now a highly illegal dragon onboard. On the Princess' navy ship, no less. It helped that the kid was quiet; dragons were supposed to be chatty, but this one was as mum as a little ... thing that was mum. He was better at thinking up analogies when he wasn't facing a lifetime dungeon sentence.

Princess Celestia let the silence stretch out, watching the little green-spined dragon as it wiggled in the guardmare's grip. She was quiet for what felt like a long time to Golden Honey before she spoke again, facing him calmly. "My child, you have committed a grave crime. But you are still my child, and so we shall find a place for you in this world, as we will the little dragon. Guard Tesla, find the -"

"Wait, you're taking him away?" Golden Honey asked suddenly, his eyes flicking to the little purple-and-green creature, now blinking back at him balefully with those big yellow-green eyes. "Look, I'm - I'm sorry. I'll serve my time, I'll do whatever punishment you have for me, but - but don't take him back there. He - he can stay with me, I'll take care of him."

"You?" Princess Celestia said, an air vague surprise entering her voice, as if she only half-felt the emotion. "You, a lowly earth sailor? A stallion in the navy, to raise such a small, complex creature? I think not. Who knows what damage you have already done to him. Dragons get rid of the younglings whose powers are too weak to serve their race, but we might find a use for him yet."

"A use for him? Like you find a use for your children?" Golden Honey snapped suddenly, his ears pinning back in a sudden flush of anger. He was still terrified of being turned into a teacup or something equally horrible, but something in him had ignited when he saw them taking the little dragon away. It was his dragon, dammit, and who knew what they'd do to the little guy. Make him some kind of - maid, or something? "Like you find a use for your stallions? One of the most powerful labor forces in all of Equestria, the strongest guards in all of the kingdoms, and you won't even allow them to vote?"

Princess Celestia's eyes returned to Golden Honey, and for a brief moment, he thought he saw a flash of real emotion there; unfortunately, it was anger. "Stallions have softer minds than mares. It is for your own protection that I do not give your kind too many distractions. If you had the capacity to understand what happened during the Unspeakable War, then you would not question my judgment. I keep my ponies safe and happy."

"Happiness cannot be had when half of your population is kept in servitude! We are not allowed to vote, not allowed to hold high ranks - how are we to live our lives happily if we cannot be equal to our sisters?" Golden Honey insisted, one hoof striking the tiled floor sharply, his anger burning in his gaze as surely as it burned in hers. "How can we be happy knowing we are second-class citizens?"

"You are a foolish stallion. The Unspeakable -"

"Mares fought in the Unspeakable War as well, Your Majesty, or have you forgotten that?" He snapped, and immediately, he knew he had gone too far. The princess' eyes burned into his, and Golden Honey struggled not to flinch as she seared him with her eyes. The Unspeakable War had been so long ago, but there had been rumors - rumors that the two princesses had not always agreed on their actions during that war, and that those disagreements had perhaps even bled into their reigns, causing the banishment of Princess Luna so many centuries ago. There was a reason it was Unspeakable, you massive idiot, Golden Honey thought to himself.

Princess Celestia stared him down until Golden Honey looked away, his ears still flat. "Guard Tesla. Take the foundling to Madame Trifle; she will know what to do with him for now."

Golden Honey could only watch as they carried the little dragon away. He'd never even had a chance to give him a name; he'd figured 'Little Guy' would work until he started talking. Goddess, what a fool he was, thinking he could sneak a baby dragon off of a ship in the royal navy. Thinking he could change the mind of the Princess by yelling at her.

"And as for you, Golden Honey." Princess Celestia said, waiting until the brown pony's head had swiveled back to her before continuing. "You will be remolded into the pony that you should have been taught to be in the first place. You are being given a second chance; you will be very grateful for it, once your mind is in the right place to receive it."

Golden Honey didn't protest, but even if he could, he wasn't sure what he would protest against. Remolded? What the hoof did that mean? Sure, he hadn't had the easiest upbringing, but - but he couldn't go back in time and do it over again, could he?

The Princess must have given some kind of signal; before Golden Honey could really realize it was happening, he was surrounded by three of the guardmares, all staring back at him coldly, their horns a nice sharp reminder to remain still.

"Your new name will be Golden Delicious." The Princess said evenly, and to Golden Honey's shock, she was descending from her throne, moving as light as a shadow.

"Golden - wait, my name - my name is Golden Honey." He stammered, more than a little afraid of the way she was walking towards him. He couldn't quite put a hoof on why, but it filled his heart with dread. But when he tried to back up, his flank contacted cold metal, driving him back into the center of the guardmares.

"Was." Said Celestia, her eyes lingering on him. "You have been selected for a very prestigious mission. You will be renewed in this life, given a second chance to correct the grave mistakes of the first."

"Grave mist-? look, I don't-"

"You will be given as the mate of a mateless pony, as it is decreed in our laws. 'Each pony shall seek its mate by its cutie mark, and in that way, shall know that they are destined to be together and to be fruitful.'"

"Mate - wait, you don't- Get the hell away from me!" His soft, uncertain demands had risen to a sharp, panicked shriek as the princess drew closer to him, power radiating off of her so fiercely it almost hurt.

But the princess would not be denied, and even as Golden Honey bucked against her guards, trying to free himself, she lowered her horn to his flank. A sudden, searing pain rolled through Golden Honey, driving him to his knees. He was not some silly frilly fru fru stallion, more loaded with books than with muscle, but the pain was like nothing he had ever felt before. It was if she was excising the very flesh from him with her horn, then burning whatever was underneath that. He couldn't halt the scream that tore itself from his lips, even when the princess withdrew her horn. It still burned, even when she pulled back, and he could feel his consciousness leaving him.

"Prepare the chariot. They ride for Ponyville at first light." He could hear the princess saying, brisk and warm, as if she hadn't just killed him, or whatever was happening now. Goddess, was this how it ended?

"Oh, Golden, my poor little angel."

This wasn't real. That much, at least, he could tell right off. He knew, logically, he wasn't awake, because he could see himself lying in the bed. His point of view seemed to be constantly changing, but wasn't that how all dreams worked?

"Hey mom, I'm okay, really." Came his tiny voice; it took a moment to realize that Golden was a child in this dream. Then again, he was tucked so heavily into that bed, he couldn't see much of himself at all. "I only fell out of the middle of the tree."

"Did Apple Jam put you up to this? Oh, I'm going to have a word with her! Always leading you around, getting you into trouble, why I-"

"Moooommmm." Golden whined, and dream-Golden chuckled, remembering that whine pretty damn well. "Apple Jam didn't make me. I said I'm fine, so you don't hafta worry, okay?"

"But - but your tooth!" His mother sniffled, brushing some of her blue mane out of her face as she bent over to get a better look at him. Indeed, there on the top row, was a neat gap where a tooth had been.

"It's not so bad, I barely use that tooth anyway." He insisted, trying to puff his chest out, to be brave for his mother. She needed him to be the big strong man, while Daddy was away!

"But Nurse Crosshatch said you might have problems with your memory, sweetie. You can't even remember coming inside, do you?" She murmured tenderly, smoothing a hoof over his rebellious black forelock.

"Yeah, but that was boring stuff. I'm sure I'll remember things perfectly from now on!" He promised, beaming up at his mother, bathed in the glowing warmth of her smile.

Golden Honey woke up with a sharp jolt, something ill-remembered flashing through his mind. But like all dreams, it began to fade as he returned to alertness, leaving only the gentle warmth of his mother's smile in his mind.

No, something was wrong. Well, lots of things were wrong, actually, but trying to make a list of them was difficult. Firstly, he was up in the air, lying on his side in what felt like some kind of chariot. He knew about the chariots that carried unwinged ponies around on official royal duty; he'd just never ridden in one himself, much less while unconscious. A quick glance revealed the two guardmares at the front, glaring back at him when they sensed his eyes on them.

Well, the plower's collar around his neck explained the next wrong thing, why he couldn't move around too much. Probably didn't want him toppling them out of the chariot mid-flight, he thought a little darkly. It would serve them right, though, dragging him around, zapping his - his flank! He twisted his neck sharply, trying to get a look at himself, fully expecting to see some kind of hideous burn, or a deep gash, perhaps even revealing a sickening glimpse of moon-pale bone.

But ... no. Nothing. Or rather, nothing obviously gory, although it still burned faintly. But there, in place of the golden pot of honey that had decorated his hip until very recently, was a golden apple, with a little green leaf on top.

Slowly, Golden Honey - or Golden Delicious, perhaps he should say - looked away from his flank, his eyes drifting to look down at the scenery as it passed below them. This was an area he had never seen; there was so much green, and here and there little homes speckled the landscape. A curling, lazy river wound under them, as if following their path through the air.

It would seem that the princess had been sincere in her desire to give him a 'new life.' His symbol was new, this land was new... but something else, something half-remembered, jangled at him, like the sharp pain of an -

Of an open socket. Where a tooth should be, HAD been, was now a gap, slightly painful and coppery tasting.

A deep shuddering overtook Golden Honey, making his skin twitch and his tail lash. Wrong. It was all wrong. This wasn't his symbol, his land, his mouth.

And that wasn't his mother.


	2. Chapter 2

"Do you understand, stallion?"

Golden Delicious nee Honey glanced up from where he'd been studying the dusty road below them, giving a faint nod. They had been walking for at least an hour, trekking in from the farthest edge of the Ponyville countryside. Golden Delicious' questions had been met with stony silence, so he could only assume that it was done in order to make it look like they'd traveled here by hoof, instead of dragging Golden Delicious from the dungeons of Celestia's castle in Canterlot.

When he did not elaborate, the mare spoke again, her voice sharper this time. "We will hear it in your words, stallion."

Golden Delicious' ears flicked back against his skull, but he was too exhausted to put up a fight, so he simply repeated their story back to them, his voice low and tired. "My name is Golden Delicious, I'm from an apple farm on the far side of Equestria. Celestia found me and arranged for me to come here and become Red Delicious' mate, and I'm very excited to be here and get back to the business of apples."

The pair of mares eyed him closely, and when he fell silent, they prompted him. "And…?"

"And I recently fell off of my ladder, so I've sustained a bit of memory loss. Pretty please help me out if I forget some of the everyday business of – augh!" He jerked sharply back where one of the unicorn mares kicked his side, her delicate hoof surprisingly sharp against his brown hide. "What the fuck!"

"We will have none of your snide attitude, stallion. The Princess will not tolerate it." She spoke in her usual calm, quiet voice, but Golden Delicious would have to be deaf to miss the barely-restrained anger there. "You will also not use your – sailor talk." She added, her voice darkening with revulsion. "These are good apple folk, and the Princess will not have you besmirch their good natures with your foul mouth."

"Right, right, got it." He grunted, struggling to bite back the groan of pain. Between the occasional kick and the coppery taste in his mouth, Golden Delicious wasn't feeling so great. The seemingly-endless hike wasn't helping things, either. The only upside was that the constant burning pain in his hip was lessened by comparison, with all the other pains to distract him.

While he had started out the hike hating the idea of his new prison, by the time they finally reached the Crappy Happy Apple Farm (or whatever those hick ponies named it), he had to bite back a sob of joy. The farm came into view as they crested a long, rolling hill, the last hundred yards seeming endless as they made their slow descent towards the respectably sized homestead.

That's odd, Golden Delicious wondered to himself, his ears flicking forward a little weakly. They had all kinds of banners up; had he missed some kind of birthday party? But where were the ponies?

As the trio stepped past the large front gate of the farm, the place seemed to burst with life, starting with a little yellow face pressed to a window for a split-second before vanishing. As if on cue, the doors to the main house opened as four ponies trotted out. Well, Golden reasoned, three ponies and one giant.

But they were all smiling, at least, which was more than Golden Delicious could say for his guards, and he found himself unconsciously returning it. It may be a prison, but it was miles better than the hellhole Celestia had kept him in.

"Howdy, y'all!" Chirped the second-to-smallest pony, the oldest-looking mare in the group. Which wasn't saying much, since the youngest one was just a filly with a bow bigger than her face. "Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres! You must be Golden Delicious!" She drawled, tipping her hat to him, her eyes alight with curiosity.

Abruptly, Golden became keenly aware of six pairs of eyes on him – four of the apple-hick clan, and two of the pointy-horns clan. A little nervously, Golden Delicious cleared his throat, looking at no one in particular as he recited his little story. "Hello, I'm Golden Delicious, from a farm on the far side of Equestria. Celestia found me and had me brought here to find my destined mate and – and I can't wait to get back to work in the apple business." He stumbled only momentarily, managing to hide the flinch that he felt rise unconsciously within him. "I recently fell off of my ladder, so if I have some memory lapses, please be patient with me."

"Fell off your ladder, poor sugarcube!" Chirped the orange mare, accepting his story as wholeheartedly as he would expect of the poor, dim hick. But then, he thought a little guiltily, she didn't know any better; in her world, Celestia was a kind goddess-figure who wanted nothing more than to help her followers. "Well, don't you worry! We'll take good care of ya! I'm Applejack, and this is my brother, Big McIntosh! This is little cousin Apple Bloom, and our Granny Smith's inside – her rheumatism bothers her on cold days like this, you'll hafta excuse her."

Oh, thank the goddess. For a minute there he'd been terrified that the big one was Red Delicious. His eyes skimmed over the group, nodding gently to each in turn, before his eyes found the last pony to be introduced. So this must be—

"And this is Red Delicious, my cousin!" Applejack finished with a little flourish, smiling at her yellow-coated companion as he stepped from behind Big Mac.

Golden Delicious took him in with a distrusting studiousness he tried to disguise. Yellow coat, a surprisingly bright color, with cerulean mane and tail cut in the traditional choppy stallion style. His eyes were like a clear patch of surf, bright and clear, and he realized with mild surprise that the stallion was sizing him up, too. And why shouldn't he? This kid was stuck with him as much as he was stuck here, on this hick farm a hundred miles from anyone he might know.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you." Red Delicious offered softly, overly formal.

"It's nice to meet you, too." Golden Delicious murmured back to him, clearing his throat a little nervously as he became aware of just how closely the other ponies were watching them. What, was he supposed to fuck him right now, or something? What the hell were they waiting for?

"Well, now that y'all are here, we can start our party!" Applejack interjected after a moment of awkward silence, grinning to the newcomers at large. "C'mon inside, we spent all mornin' cookin' up some treats for y'all!"

"We must decline with greatest regret, Apple clan." One of the horned mares spoke regally, and Golden was pretty damn sure she wasn't sorry at all. "We have pressing business in the capital. Enjoy your party."

"Oh! Well … all right then! Have a safe trip home, y'all!" Applejack chirped, watching the pair trot off for a minute before her eyes returned to Golden Delicious, sizing him up behind her wide smile. "Well, sugarcube, time ta meet the rest of the family!"

Wait. There were more?

As Golden Delicious would soon find out, there were in fact many, many more. Before very long, the party had become nothing more than a dizzying swirl of faces and names, accompanied by various apple-flavored party treats that kept getting shoved under his nose for sampling. Apple Dumpling, Apple Fritter, Apple – good goddess, did they have no other names! What was so wrong with pears!

Golden Delicious managed to slip away as one of Applejack's cousins (how many did that mare have!) started up a boisterous round of "bobbin' and shootin'," which apparently was some kind of bobbing for apples (of course) game, interspersed with the drinking of the potent moonshine her uncle Applewine brewed on his farm up north – or was it south? Goddess.

He stumbled into the kitchen, the raucous cries of amusement following him as the door slipped shut. His eyes flicked over the large, tidy space for only a moment before a dizzying wave of nausea hit him, and he struggled to stay on his hooves as the entire room seemed to swim before his eyes.

His mother had a kitchen, just like this, back in the Eastern Apple Valley. Large and spacious, with room for all of their family to come inside and warm themselves up after a brisk day of applebucking. She'd always make all kinds of apple-y treats, like tarts, pies, cakes –

No! She didn't have any of those things, none of those things happened, because he wasn't a goddessdamned apple pony! His mother – try to remember! Try to bring her face back, not the imposter's! His mother had a tiny kitchen, he thought intently, legs bowed and eyes squinched tightly shut, breathing harshly through his nose.

His mother had a tiny kitchen, in their tiny loft, in a big town by the sea. They had no big family, only Missus Jangles in the lower room, who watched him after school. There was no applebucking, no apple cakes, no apple pies, no apple—

"Are you okay?"

Golden Delicious' eyes snapped open as he sharply straightened up, wincing away from the pony who had suddenly appeared beside him. Wild eyes danced around the kitchen, flicking past the too-familiar blue and white china that decorated the walls before landing on the yellow stallion who stared at him.

"Is everything all right?" Red Delicious repeated, his voice softening on the repetition of the question, his blue eyes darkening as they tookin Golden's tense, almost shivering form.

"Fine. What business is it of yours?" Golden Delicious spat reflexively, ears flicking back as he scowled at the yellow stallion. But as soon as he said it, he knew it was too harsh, and something in Red Delicious' eyes darkened, and his brows lowered over his once-bright eyes.

"Because you're my mate now." Red stated flatly, a muscle in his jaw tightening. "Mates look out for each other."

"Yeah, well, is that why you came here? To come bug me about – being your mate, or something?" Golden Delicious spat, his anger boiling up inside of him, spilling out of his mouth like some kind of flood that he couldn't dam up. "If you're here to tell me you like to be spanked and want to call me 'Daddy,' this is not the best time."

"You think I like this either?" Red Delicious snapped at him in return, startling Golden Delicious a little. "You think I wanted some stranger to come here to be my mate? I liked my life as it was. So you can just – go buck some apples." He hissed, straightening up to his full height before trotting out of the kitchen, disappearing out the side door.

Golden Delicious stood there for a few minutes in stunned silence before the large main door opened again, and Applejack peered inside. "There ya are, sugarcube! I sent Red in here to get more of that apple wine; guess he got lost. You wanna come play with us?"

Golden Delicious stared after the side door for a moment before replying, trying to brighten his voice into something that resembled a more 'proper' apple-pony tone. "Yeah, sounds good." He murmured, lifting the bottle of apple wine in his teeth. Silently, he followed Applejack and soon disappeared into the swell of bodies, an anchor vanishing in the ocean's depths.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun was a bright coin as it rose, clear and unblemished; the headache was a nail being driven into his skull, stabbing and sharp, right between his eyes.

The party had continued on long into the night, with free-flowing applewine and more apple-based treats than you could shake a hoof at. Golden Delicious wasn't quite sure when it ended, exactly, since he passed out a couple hours after his run-in with Red Delicious. (Despite Celestia's attempts to convince his brain otherwise, he was still a sailor at heart, complete with a healthy penchant for drink.) But enjoying a few free drinks rarely translated to single-hoofedly finishing off a bottle and a half of moonshine, even on the longest of his shore leaves. But with each gulp, the burning in his hip seemed to lessen, and the persistent memories of an imaginary life loosened their hold on his thoughts. Right then, he didn't much care what happened to him, as long as he didn't have to see his pseudo-mother's face in his thoughts anymore.

He wasn't sure when, but sometime during the night, someone took him to bed. He only had faint awareness of this, dimly wondering who was dragging him bodily up the stairs before darkness closed around him again. When the darkness lifted, he was tucked snugly into a large, old-fashioned bed, with the blankets pulled up to his chin. Feeling more like a baby doll than a stallion, he rebelliously kicked the blankets off of him - and then thought better of it as his head began to swim, his stomach lurching sickeningly.

He only made it about halfway up before he collapsed back into bed, head pounding and vision blurring. _Goddess, _why did he have to drink so much of that damn moonshine? What did they put in that stuff, anyway?

"More tea?"

Golden Delicious thought she was another false memory for a moment, until he saw the blurry yellow shape swim into view at the edge of the bed. It seemed to him that if she was an implanted memory, she wouldn't be so blurry.

The tiny pony carefully replaced the plastic tea cup on its upturned saucer at the edge of his bed, knocked askew from Golden Delicious' attempts to sit up. "Two lumps of sugar, just like you like it." The small filly said with mock seriousness, pouring him a generous amount of imaginary tea before turning away from him, outlandishly large hair bow bobbing as she poured three more cups of tea for her dolls.

"Whazaradoing." It wasn't exactly a word, but it was all Golden could manage at the minute, with his head like it was.

"Good morning, Goldie! Are you done sleeping now?" The filly replied excitedly, trotting back to the edge of the bed, peering up at him as if he was the most interesting thing she'd ever seen. Living on a farm, he could believe it.

"'S Golden, not Goldie." He protested weakly, frowning at her from where his head sank into the pillow, too tired to lift it up. She was coming into view a little more clearly; he didn't know foal-ages very well, but she was very small, too small to be in school yet, probably. But not by a lot, since she was walking and talking and everything.

"No, I was there, I heard you loud 'n clear, Goldelicious! Like my big brover, Redelicious." She slurred the names a little bit, making it sound more like "reda-licious" and "goldie-licious." He hadn't been around kids this small since, well, since _he _had been that small; he'd forgotten how missing teeth could make words sound strange in such a little mouth.

"Redel- Red's your brother?" He asked softly, since talking too loud made everything hurt so much worse.

"Course he is!" Apple Bloom giggled, and hefted her little teapot in two tiny yellow hooves. "More tea?"

"No tea." Golden whuffed, his voice low and husky with displeasure, trying to piece everything together. "Your brother - Red, and Applejack -?"

"Applejack's my cousin! Big Mac's my cousin too, we came ta live with them - ummm, like a long long long LONG time ago!" She nodded to herself, as if affirming this fact to herself, before she frowned down into his tea cup. "You didn't drink _any _tea. Hafta drink tea if you wanna feel better, Granny says so!"

"I don't want - okay, fine." Golden grumbled, reaching out one hoof to edge the cup closer to his mouth. It remained as empty as ever, but Apple Bloom's frown didn't lessen until he mimed sipping from it, wondering what had happened to his life.

"Feel better?" Apple Bloom smiled, bouncing slightly at the edge of his bed as she watched him.

"Mm-hmm." He rumbled as he pushed the cup aside, which she happily re-filled with her empty tea pot. Before she could ask him to drink any more of the imaginary brew, he asked her another question, hoping to distract her. "Why did you move in with your cousins? Does your whole family just live on the one farm, or something?"

Something in Apple Bloom's expression changed, and she looked down at her little tea pot, opening the top to inspect it. "Need more tea." She murmured, and turned back to where she'd placed her dolls, miming the actions of brewing more tea. She was terribly earnest, and something about the pointed way she'd dodged his question made Golden resist asking again, despite his increased curiosity.

"Thanks for the tea, little miss, but I'd best be on my way." He grunted as he pulled himself up, biting back the swell of nausea that accompanied the motion. He would be damned if he had to drink another cup of imaginary tea! The little filly looked upset, but he was sliding out of bed by the time she turned to protest, and there was little she could do to stop a full-grown stallion from leaving.

He somehow managed to find his way down to the kitchen, with the chattering little filly trailing after him. She was of little help to him - instead of suggesting a path to take, she merely described the rooms they were passing, pointing out bedrooms and sitting rooms in turn.

"Where is everypony?" He interrupted as they stepped into the empty kitchen, halting Apple Bloom's monologue.

"Oh! They're out workin'!" She chirped, undeterred by his abrupt interruption. "But I kin make you some breakfast! You like pancakes?" As she spoke, she dragged a chair over to the large pantry, balancing on top of it precariously as she tried to reach for a bag of flour.

"Get down from there, you'll hurt yourself." Golden Delicious softened his tone halfway through the sentence, realizing that his concern sounded a little too close to anger. As he caught her around the middle, he began trotting towards the back door, setting her down to bump the door open with his forehead.

Her excited chatter faded into the background as he took in the full, blazingly bright scene outside. The first thing he noticed were the trees. Miles and miles of them, as far as the eye could see, extending well into the distance. Some of the closest ones shook as the orange mare - Applejack - bucked the apples from their branches, sending them rattling down into the baskets below. The big fellow, aptly named Big McIntosh, hauled another massive cart full of the red beauties, presumably into the barn on the other side of the house. And as for his Celestia-chosen mate -

"Redelicious, Redelicious!" Apple Bloom shot out of the door, galloping around the side of the house. Golden ambled after her at a much more relaxed pace, trying not to look as out of depth as he felt.

Red Delicious labored over a much smaller patch of dirt that was tucked into a protected corner between the house and barn. While Big McIntosh emptied his apple cart into the barn's bins behind the garden, Red dragged a plow over the small rectangle, creating a deep furrow in the soil. Smaller squares ringed the spot he worked in, filled with varieties of other green, growing things. As he got closer, Golden Delicious recognized a few different types of vegetables - tomatoes, some lettuce, and maybe what looked like the tops of some kind of underground plant. Potatoes? Carrots? Either way, none of it looked very appetizing, although he was sure it would have looked a lot better without the bile rising in his throat.

Red Delicious glanced up to smile at his sister as she called to him, but even from a distance, Golden Delicious could tell that his arrival didn't merit the same kind of warmth. He'd gone back to plowing by the time Golden made it over to his little plot, and continued on his path, turning his back to Golden Delicious as he worked his way down the next row.

"Hey. Look, I wanted -"

"Bloomy, can you go inside and get me some water? I'm getting a mite parched out here."

"Sure thing!" Zoom! Off she went like a shot, disappearing around the side of the house.

"Listen, about last night -"

"Save it." Red Delicious hissed suddenly, ducking out of his plow-collar with a speed borne of familiarity as he turned to face Golden, stalking towards him. "I don't owe you anything_. _Do you understand me? I'm not here to take your abuse, and I'm _certainly _not here to be the subject of unfounded, offensive -"

"Look, I'm sorry, I'm _sorry, _okay? I was - I was dealing with a lot of stuff last night." Golden Delicious interrupted as gently as he could, ears flattening as he backed up a little, neck arching in his attempt to shrink.

Red Delicious still glared at him with surprisingly-fiery blue eyes, but Golden continued on, hurrying to explain before Red could speak again. Unfortunately, the mere mention of 'stuff' didn't seem to be enough, and so Golden was forced to try and concoct some kind of cover story that _didn't _involve the princess brainwashing him and changing his cutie mark.

"Look, I - I'm not completely thrilled with this mate thing either, you know?" He said frankly, head ducking even more when Red Delicious' frown darkened. "I mean - not because of _you, _just - the whole situation. I miss being home. I miss the things that are familiar to me. This wasn't my idea, I'm still sort of _…_ getting used to it." He said softly, doing his best to avoid saying 'Celestia was wrong' outright. Some ponies took the whole 'goddess as ruler' thing _very _seriously, and he didn't want to offend his new partner.

Red Delicious was quiet for a moment before he spoke, but when he did, his voice was a great deal less shout-y than it had been previously. "I just don't know what she was thinking, what she was hoping to achieve. I didn't _ask _her for this, we've been doing just fine out here on our own. She should know that there's more than enough of us to run the farm, we have a large and extended family tree - our clan bloodline isn't at risk of dying out." And here he paused, glancing at Golden Delicious a little oddly, not daring to say it.

But Golden hadn't been raised to be quite so polite, and so he laughed, shooting Red Delicious a slightly-crooked grin. "And if it _was, _I'd hope she would've had the foresight to send you a _mare. _'Fraid to tell you, but I'm not in the business of havin' foals."

And, goddess save him, Red Delicious laughed. Sure, it was short, and a little embarrassed, but it was a _laugh. _It sounded so much better than his shouting, Golden could have sung for joy.

"Neither am I." Red Delicious admitted with a small smile, and just like that, he turned around again, heading back for the plow.

"You, uh, what're you -"

"Everyone's gotta work on the farm." Red Delicious answered briskly, although Golden was pretty sure it was a lot more friendly-sounding than before. "You should go find Big Mac, see where he needs help today. Unless you're not up to it?"

"Of _course _I'm up to it!" Golden called, and turned smartly, trotting over to where Big Mac was dumping the next load of apples into their bins. If he was going to be an Apple pony, by the goddess, he would be an Apple pony!


	4. Chapter 4

Unfortunately, Golden Delicious was _not _up to it.

He barely made it to lunch, afraid that each next step would be his last, stumbling around on his rubbery legs. The apple wine hangover didn't help things, but he wasn't sure how well he would have done sober, either. The stallion he was trying to keep up with was taciturn and _huge, _and without any conversation to distract him from the back-breaking labor, it felt like every minute lasted for hours.

When the lunch bell rang, it took all of his strength to stumble back towards the general direction of the house, doing his best to navigate by sound alone. He was just too damned _tired _to lift his head and take a look!

He only heard the miniature set of galloping hooves once they were almost upon him, and a tiny, yellow face shoved itself into his field of vision before he could do much about it. "Goldie, why're you lookin' at the ground?"

"Lookin' for my hoofprints." He rumbled, continuing to plod ahead slowly, concentrating on putting one hoof in front of another.

"Your hoofprints are _behind _you, silly!" Apple Bloom giggled, moving out of the way as he plodded, trotting alongside and around him. "It's time for lunch! Get a move on! Giddy up giddy up!" She insisted, rising on her back legs to give his flank a push.

He cried out a lot sharper than he'd intended, the dull ache in his flank becoming a searing white-hot fire as she touched it.

Apple Bloom shied backwards, but soon darted back up to him again, already-large eyes widening in distress. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Sore, that's all." He hissed between gritted teeth, trying to work through the pain, speeding his steps up to a deliberately-painful pace. It helped, a little; it was hard to feel his hip burning through the ache of his overworked legs, and so the closer he got to the house, the faster he went.

"You sure, Goldie?" Apple Bloom asked softly, trailing after him.

"Sure." Golden Delicious hissed, almost sobbing with relief as he felt the wooden planks of the porch steps under his hooves. Thank the _goddess. _"Gotta go - wash up." He mumbled, keeping his head down as he fairly bolted through the kitchen, his legs hurting all the worse now that they were so close to relief.

Apple Bloom said something behind him, and someone else answered, but Golden couldn't be bothered at the moment; his only goal was his bed. The rest of the house passed in a blur, even the stairs, and within moments he landed in his four-poster, never more grateful for anything else before in his life. He'd known hard work on the _PCS Yellow Flower, _of course, but this apple-bucking business was in a league of its own.

He'd only intended to lie down for a few minutes, regaining the strength to go down and eat lunch, but the moment his head touched the pillow, the dream attacked.

"C'mon, Delicious! He's beating ya, he's beating ya!"

"I'm bucking as fast as I can!"

This time the dream was in the first person; he could feel the words as they slipped out of his mouth, but he had no real control over them. It would have been less alien, of course, if this had been a _real _dream, and not some kind of nightmarish fever-vision. There were two stallions in front of him, as real as the Apple family he'd just met, cheering him on as he - bucked apples, apparently, which had to be what that solid feeling under his hind hooves was. Another stallion to his left bucked a second tree, breath coming in sharp, determined gasps as he filled his own basket.

"C'moooon, you can do it Delish!" One of them cheered, and Golden Delicious recognized him - a long-time family friend, Tart Green, and his cousin Apple Strudel. Both members of the apple clan, but far-off relations who came to town for the annual reunion. He'd known them since he was a little foal, playing under the shade of the apple trees that their parents were bucking. They always came together for the annual harvest, since many hooves made for light work.

_No, _he tried to say, but no words came; somewhere, deep inside, he could feel himself struggling, even as his dream-body ceaselessly bucked apples. _No, this isn't real, these aren't my memories! _But no sound came out, despite how he fought. Despite his exhaustion, he thrashed ceaselessly, his throat raw from screaming that he couldn't hear.

"Gol_den_, Gol_den_! You've got him beat-"

"Golden!"

"- just a couple more apples! A few more-"

"Golden, what's the matter? Why is he-"

"- good bucks and you've got this in the-"

"-you need to wake up!"

Golden Delicious awoke to the sound of his own screams.


End file.
